DAULATRAM LACHHMANDAS NAYAR Vs. STATE OF BOMBAY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition for direction to the respondent to cancel two orders, one an order of requisition and the other, an order of allotment dated respectively November 5 and 7, 1957, and for a further direction that the respondent should hand over possession of fiat No. 1 in St. James' Court, Marine Drive, to the petitioners.

(2.) THE petitioners are the owners of the building known as St. James' Court which consists in all of 24 flats. The petitioners are brothers and are the joint owners of the said building. Petitioner No. 1 has been staying all the while in a flat in another building called 'Shiv Sadah', Marine Drive.

(3.) UPTO September 30, 1957, one C.M. Agarwal was a tenant of the petitioners in respect of flat No. 1 in the building, St. James' Court. On July 25, 1957, a notice from the Accommodation Officer was received by petitioner No. 1. The notice stated that the Government had made inquiries and were considering the question of requisitioning the flat under the Bombay Land Requisition Act, 1948. The notice called upon petitioner No. 1 to see the Accommodation Officer on July 27, 1957, if necessary, with a written statement to show causa why the said flat should not be requisitioned. The petitioners, accordingly, put in their written statement inter alia setting out therein that petitioner No. 1 was in dire need of accommodation and requested the Accommodation Officer to allot the said flat to him. By his letter dated August 22, 1957, the Officer wrote to petitioner No. 1 that the case was one of suppressed vacancy. The petitioners thereafter requested again the Accommodation Officer to allot the said flat to petitioner No. 1 but that request was not complied with.